Rise
by rhetoricfemme
Summary: One host club member's embarrassing mishap at a group reunion turns out to be precisely the intercession Haruhi and Takashi need. One-shot!


I own no part of Ouran Highschool Host Club.

* * *

Haruhi stood in the middle of her hotel suite, hands stretched away from her sides while several of them scattered in search of towels. It was all she could do to keep the look of disgust wiped from her face while staring at the disgraced young man crouched near her feet.

Eliciting a told-you-so sigh, Kyoya shook his head. "It's like I said, Huni-Senpai: Can you really expect at 28 years old to put confections away as you did ten-to-twelve years ago?"

"Kyo-Chan, I just threw up all over Haru-Chan. I think you can drop the senpai now. I didn't think it would hurt to indulge once, for old time's sake..."

Hands in his pockets and leaning back on his heels, he gave his friend a knowing grin. "You should trust me. I'm a doctor."

While it was obvious some of the room's occupants could find humor in the situation, Haruhi shot Kyoya a glance indicating that it was time to knock it off.

"It's okay, Mitsukuni. Honestly, it's not that bad."

Furrowing his brow, he only shook his head. "You're covered in puke and pink icing, Haru-Chan. You don't need to try and make me feel better."

_Well, when you put it that way... Yes. Yes I do..._

"Look at it this way: At least you didn't bring Usa-Chan! I don't even require dry-cleaning."

Whether he wanted to or not, her comment caused Mitsukuni to genuinely laugh. In turn, she had drawn a grin from Takashi, who was working with the twins on creating an exchange of clean versus dirty towels.

It was at this moment that Tamaki chimed in from the bathroom. "Speaking of cleaning, Haruhi... I don't think your room is good, anymore. We've got soiled clothes and towels in the bath, not to mention the center of the room where the whole thing happened..."

"She can stay in my room."

He had offered so casually, without even bothering to look up from the toweled mess in front of him, that no one seemed to find a reason to question the immediacy of Takashi's response. He was simply helping to provide part of the solution to an abrupt problem.

"That's very kind of you, Takashi, but I don't want to put you out. I'll just get another room."

"Why bother? It's already late. Not to mention you're still mostly covered in sick."

_Fair enough..._

"Alright, then. Thank you."

"Hn."

Feeling relief for the first time in over an hour, Mitsukuni was ever thankful that his cousin was helping to rectify his own mistake by taking care of Haruhi. Reliable, as usual.

"You guys can go on, Takashi. Reiko-Chan should be down from our room soon."

Grabbing Haruhi's suitcase for her, Takashi nodded while reaching for the door.

Both twins looked around, assessing the current situation.

"Well," decided Hikaru, "I see no reason for everybody to retire. Mori's got Haruhi. I say we make sure Huni is situated before heading out for a few more drinks and stories."

Garnering approving nods from the room, Haruhi bade them all goodnight, promising to see them each off in the morning.

Making her way down the hall, Haruhi remained careful not to touch anything, or anyone else along the way.

"Thanks again, Takashi."

"It's no problem."

Taking a moment to absorb the silence, it wasn't long before Haruhi let out a happy laugh.

"You know... Once a year is not nearly often enough."

Having reached the room, Takashi nodded his agreement while opening the door for her.

"Oh well," she sighed, "With the collective ambitions of this group, I suppose getting together once a year is a rather impressive feat."

"Hn."

"It's nice that we get to share a field. At least we're able to keep up often enough."

"That's true."

Setting her suitcase down inside the bathroom, Takashi pulled an empty plastic bag out of the closet for her soiled dress.

"I'm going to go ahead and check on Mitsukuni while you shower. Be back soon."

"Alright. Tell him I hope he feels better."

Shutting the bathroom door behind her, Haruhi expelled a tired sigh, and turned on the water. Ridding herself of the ruined garment, she bagged it up, then stepped into the jet stream.

_Ah... A thousand thank yous to the creator of the luxury shower head..._

After washing the evening's mishap away from her body, Haruhi delighted in the opportunity to merely stand with the water pouring over her tired muscles. Save for the end, it had been an entirely pleasant day of catching up with her blissfully unique circle of friends. Though their careers were still in varying stages of infancy, each of them had been collecting well-deserved accolades within their areas of expertise, and were poised to do important things for their respective fields.

Though it did not necessarily please her, it came as no surprise to Haruhi to learn that another year had gone by without so much as a single marriage proposal for any of them. Save for Mitsukuni, all six remaining hosts had throttled their studies and careers ahead of all else.

_No one at Ouran ever mentioned that happiness was no cure for loneliness, though... How did Mom do this alongside of caring for me and Dad?I wish I could ask her how. I think I know what Dad would say, though... It's not what you do, but who you're doing it with. Companionship..._

Sliding to the shower floor, Haruhi allowed the water to curtain her long bangs over her eyes. Within several minutes the steady drum of the water had pushed back all of the complicated, long-standing thoughts of her mind, and as she was seldom wont to do, Haruhi gave in to herself, reluctantly bringing a hand between her legs.

Finding her rhythm, it wasn't long before her quiet, even breathing blended into the dull roar of the water, and the last comprehensive thought had been evicted from her head. Notions of work, family, social expectations... All of it was being temporarily replaced by instinct and desire, with the occasional lust-swept image drifting through her head. An indecisive blur at first, in time the image came alongside her body's climbing, insatiable urge became an impulsive torrent of stardust. Close to attaining her goal, she steadied her breathing, groping for the picture to become clear.

"Takashi..."

Unfortunately, Haruhi's ultimate and innate instinct was that she could not do this alone. And just like that, all her hopes for stardust disappeared.

* * *

The time required to check in on Mitsukuni had been minimal, and within no time Takashi had found himself back in his now shared hotel room. As comfortable as it looked, he immediately resigned himself from the bed, opting to pull out the futon, instead.

Figuring that Haruhi was now in possession of her suitcase and would have no other needs for the evening, he nestled beneath a blanket after turning out the lights.

Having nearly fallen asleep to the consistent sound of the shower, Takashi bolted upright after hearing what he thought to be a small yelp from within the bathroom. The water turning off only a moment later provided him some small relief, although he decided to turn on a light for added good measure. After the evening she seemed to be having, there was no need to set the scene for Haruhi to trip in the darkness onto another unforeseen accident.

If he were being honest with himself, it was not an entirely selfless endeavor for which Takashi had invited Haruhi back to his room. While there were no forthright intentions on his behalf, it _had _been entirely too appealing to be the one offering Haruhi this particular brand of help.

Seeing her often enough throughout the legal circuit, hearing of her via colleagues all the more, and even finding time for the occasional meal together, Takashi had grown bored of disregarding his personal feelings toward her. If he was not mistaken, she had emitted similar notions of her own, as well.

_But is it wise to gamble over a decade's worth of friendship over a hunch like this?_

Steam rose up from the frame as Haruhi stepped through the bathroom door.

"Takashi, I'm sorry. Did I wake you?"

_Not exactly..._

"No."

"Okay. I didn't think you'd be back so soon."

Now sitting up, he was a sight to see, as the length of the futon barely did him justice.

"You're not sleeping there."

"I was."

"I thought you said I didn't wake you?"

"I meant I was planning on it..."

"Nope. I'm not about to kick you out of your own bed, on top of taking over the bathroom."

"It's fine."

"You don't even fit on that thing."

"Ah."

Believing he had nothing worthwhile left to say on the matter, Haruhi pointed matter-of-factly to the king-size bed.

"Then we share."

"Haru-"

"Share, or regardless of where you sleep, I'm taking the floor."

Raising his hands in defeat, Takashi smiled while noticing that she had used her I'm-a-non-negotiating-lawyer tone to win him over. He relished at the chance to take in this sight of her: dark, wet hair tousled and framing her face, the glow of her paled skin outdone only by the natural red that had flushed her cheeks during her shower.

_A bit too red. The rest of her is a far cry from scalded..._

With an authoritative nod, Haruhi grinned as he moved toward one side of the bed, and she in turn reached for the lights. Climbing in alongside him, Haruhi gave a contented sigh.

"Good night, Takashi."

"Good night..."

Unable to imagine how he was supposed to fall asleep alongside her, the only question plaguing him more was how after a mere five minutes of lying there, Haruhi was seemingly already in a coma.

Then, there had been his earlier inquiry as to that sweet shade of red along her face. She had been completely flushed. As if his subconscious wished to hurry him along, his abrupt awakening had been shoved to the front of his mind. He had worried after hearing what he thought to be a yelp. A cry.

_Wait. Was Haruhi? No..._

Turning around to observe the woman to his side, Takashi watched while Haruhi slept, a look of comfort draped across her face. Carefully, he tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, only to find Haruhi nuzzling into his palm before turning away from him.

_Would it really be such a surprise? It's not as though we're in high school anymore._

"Takashi..." Quietly moaning his name, the unconscious Haruhi had successfully managed to wipe clear the entirety of his mind.

_Dreaming? I should move away now._

Preparing to retreat back to the futon, Takashi stopped upon hearing that now too-familiar yelp that had previously sounded off from the bathroom. Wanting to do right by her, yet still not entirely sure what to do, he attempted to gently shake her awake.

"Haruhi? Haruhi, wake up. You're dreaming."

Giving a small start, she managed to pull herself awake, albeit not entirely.

"I'm sorry, Takashi... I'm not trying to keep you up."

"It's okay. Go back to sleep."

"Hm." Grabbing him by the wrist, she took with her Takashi's hand when turning back over, resting it between her own. Unwilling to wake her yet again, he gave a frustrated sigh, and tried to figure out if there was any way that he might find some sleep. While his thoughts seemed to run free, fatigue came slow.

Even Haruhi, who was in the middle of a seemingly restless sleep, was getting better shut-eye than he could hope for.

Repositioning himself comfortably on his side, Takashi did his best not to think about the fact that he was now spooned against his long-time friend Haruhi. The same friend who once upon a time had unknowingly commissioned his protection against both the revelation of her gender, and ill-intentions of ignorant and jealous males. Eventually he had transitioned into guarding her from overzealous non-suitors.

At some point, though he wasn't sure when—he suspected it to have happened to all of them around the same time—Haruhi became an entity all her own. Within time, their paths merely refused to cross, and Takashi had been forced to admit that she was a self-reliant and independent young woman. On her own.

He was started from his thoughts after once again hearing his name. She was awake, this time.

"Takashi?"

"Haruhi."

"For a while now, we all meet at the same time, every year."

"True."

"You and I, though; we're fortunate enough to see each other much more often."

"Yes."

"In both instances, it never feels like enough. We used to see each other every single day."

"That was a long time ago."

"It was. And we all keep up with one another well enough. But you know? We've all spent so much time studying, and now we're incessantly working. It's gratifying, sure, but why is it every time I check my mail there is a sense of disappointment that none of you have invited me to a wedding? Why do none of us receive birth announcements from one another?"

"Ah."

"Mitsukuni was the first to be married. So far, he also seems to be the last."

"I doubt he's the last."

"Yeah."

"Can you really imagine Tamaki going through life unmarried?"

At this the two of them burst into laughter, for the notion was indeed filled with a humorous, albeit tragic sense of absurdity.

"I know, Takashi. I'm sure everyone's time will come."

_Why does Haruhi seem so worried? She's only 26. When does age ever properly factor into a person's dreams, however?_

"Haruhi. You know the average age for marriage in Japan is women 28 and men 30, right? You have nothing to be upset about."

She nodded, clasping her hands just a little tighter around his. "I suppose. It'd be a shame to find out that I've been looking the wrong way and missed an amazing chance, though."

Takashi sighed, uncertain as to how this altogether interesting situation would proceed. Deciding to simply be supportive, he gave her own hand a small squeeze.

"It's highly doubtful you'll miss out on anything."

"You sound so sure."

He laughed a little. "Clearly your aptitude for self-perception hasn't grown much in recent years. Still don't know that you're amazing."

Blushing, Haruhi could feel herself shrink back a little at his words. "Thank you, Takashi. You always have such kind words."

_You'd think for all of her outstanding qualities, complimenting this girl would be easy... Hn._

"Haruhi."  
"Takashi?"

With little warning, he removed his hand hand from hers, instead slinking it beneath the thin material of her undergarments. Curling his own body alongside of her, Takashi interpreted Haruhi's movement against his hand as permission to continue.

Moving in time with his hand, she nestled into his touch, confirming precisely what she knew to be missing before.

"Takashi..."

_So she had been thinking about me. Thank you..._

The delicious, yet still unrequited heat taking over his body had nothing on the treasure he now cupped in his hand. Encompassing Haruhi's small form, he held her close while learning to play her like the delicate and rare instrument he believed her to be. Burying his face in her hair, he absorbed the scent of her while relishing in the feel of her pleasure.

More than anything, he wanted to taste her.

Swinging his leg around to straddle her, Takashi gazed down upon the same flushed red as before, now blazing across Haruhi's cheeks. Staring back up at him, she simply smiled.

Leaning down to take her lips with his, Takashi slowed down the movement of his hand, while using the other to unbutton her pajama shirt. Moving with slight hesitation, he left Haruhi the necessary room to protest along the way. Her only answer was to wrap her arms around his neck, leaning into his embrace with unprecedented fervor.

Pushing back for a moment, Takashi broke their kiss, and drew back his hand. In front of him laid Haruhi with her shirt now entirely opened. Realizing that at least for the moment, this coveted vision belonged only to him, he fought back the insane urge to cry.

"You're beautiful, Haruhi."

Not entirely knowing what to say, she only smiled.

Planting one more kiss on her cheek, Takashi gave her an intriguing grin before moving nearly out of sight. Within seconds he began to leave kisses along her skin, meandering from one place to another. He made sure not to ignore an inch of her before finally bringing all his attention to the crest of fabric resting atop her center.

Trailing his tongue along the hem, he soon clamped around the article with his teeth, pulling them out of his way. Leaving one last kiss on her thigh, Takashi parted her legs further, demanding entrance to that which for so long he had only imagined.

Unprepared for the extraordinary talent he now parlayed, the only sound Haruhi could manage to extract from herself resembled something of a yelp. In the midst of causing her this pleasure, Takashi smiled inwardly for being able to compare this specific rendition to those that had come before. He was sure that it was not only within his imagination that this particular sound had emanated something far grander.

Allowing Haruhi's body to take an innate lead, Takashi worked and teased at her. The steady rise of her voice told him that her pleasure was near, at which point he called upon years of training to hold back the desires of his own body. If he could help it, the night would not end so soon, but he would have nothing before Haruhi had gained what belonged to her.

Steeling himself for her release, it was all he could do not to take her for all his own on the spot. Grabbing her by the hand, he deviated from his established pattern, applying further pressure to Haruhi, instead.

"_Tak-Takashi!_"

Feeling her hand slacken within his, Takashi glided upward so that he might join her once again on the bed. Still breathing heavily, she rolled into him, allowing herself to be completely embraced by the situation that seemed to be developing.

Leaning upward to kiss him, Haruhi sighed. "That... Was completely unexpected."

"You were also talking about yourself as though you were some old spinster full of regrets." Pausing for a moment, he thought back to every delightful thing that had just occurred. "Do you have any regrets?"

"None pertaining to you."

"Ah."

Pulling her closer, he remained quiet for a moment. Never one to exactly act out of impulse, he prayed that this was all simply the culmination of their mutual realizations for one another. Rather, he knew without a doubt that this evening was the product of feelings long since withheld, and he now banked on Haruhi choosing to stay alongside him as they moved forward. She, after all, was also an unimpulsive creature. But in love, is there ever such a thing as a sure bet?

Her small whisper pulled him away from his exceedingly tempestuous drove of thoughts.

"Takashi?"

"Hn?"

"Why are you still dressed?"

Feeling his heart soar, Takashi smiled as she tugged at his shirt while placing another sweet kiss on him.

* * *

.

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Yep... So that just happened. It was quite a departure for my Taka and Haruhi. Typically, I seem to like keeping their bedroom curtain closed. Thanks for reading! Oh, and... Thoughts? ;)


End file.
